Over 300 Former Security Professionals Say Trump's Actions Are A "Profound National Security Concern"

The statement above is from over 300 former U.S. national security and foreign policy officials. These officials worked under both Republican and Democratic administrations. They are not concerned with promoting either political party. Their only concern is the security of the United States.

You can go here to see who these officials are that signed this statement.

Endangered Species

Political Cartoon is by Bruce Plante in Tulsa World.

A Fascist Is . . .

Impeach - Defeat - Convict

Trump Impeaches Himself (& It May Cost GOP The Senate)

Donald Trump (and his lackey, William "Whitewash" Barr) have repeatedly claimed that the Mueller Report cleared Trump of any wrongdoing. Trump claims the report found "no collusion" and "no obstruction".

That is not true. While Mueller claimed he did not have the evidence to prove Trump conspired with Russia to affect the 2016 election, he found over 100 instances in which members of the Trump campaign met with Russians during the campaign. And he also found about half a dozen instances in which Trump actively tried to obstruct justice while being investigated (and the only reason charges were brought was because of a Justice Department policy to not file charges against a sitting president).

Add to this the fact that Trump paid off a woman he had extra-marital sex with to protect his campaign, and it's obvious to those who would look that there were charges to be brought in an impeachment proceeding.

Sadly, a majority of House Democrats (including the Speaker) were too afraid to start those impeachment hearings. They were afraid that impeaching Trump would hurt Democrats in the 2020 election. Frankly, it was beginning to look like Trump would be able to avoid any consequences for his criminal conduct. He could have avoided impeachment through the next election.

Then Trump's rampant narcissism got the best of him. He decided he could not be impeached no matter what he did, and the only way he could be put out of office would be to lose the 2020 election. And he was worried about that (especially if he had to run against Joe Biden). How would he prevent that?

Trump decided that since he was elected with the help of a foreign government in 2016 (and got away with it), then he could use the help of a foreign government to win in 2020. He decided to ask the Ukrainian government to give him some dirt on Joe Biden (or his son) -- or at least initiate an investigation into them, so Trump could claim they were being investigated for corruption. In other words, he asked for campaign help from a foreign government -- a clear violation of U.S. election law.

He thought he could keep his request (or extortion, since he threatened to refuse military aid to Ukraine) a secret. What he did not count on was an honest and courageous intelligence official who filed a whistleblower complaint. After trying to keep the complaint from going to Congress and failing, Trump decided to bluff his way through the scandal -- as he had done before. He actually admitted asking the Ukraine president to investigate Biden and his son, claiming he was just looking for corruption.

Trump and his Republican friends are trying to play off the request as unimportant. But it's very important. It goes straight to the sanctity of our electoral system. We cannot allow foreign powers to interfere with our elections -- and for a president to seek election help from a foreign government is nothing less than an attack on our representative democracy!

Whether Trump used extortion or not (and I think he did) is not the crux of this matter. Republicans are repeatedly saying there was no "quid pro quo". That doesn't matter. Trump has admitted asking a foreign government to give him something of value to help his 2020 campaign -- a investigation of the Bidens. That is not just serious, but impeachable.

Basically, Trump just impeached himself! His admission forced House Democrats off the fence. With him admitting to a serious election violation, they had to start impeachment proceedings -- and they have done that. It is now a foregone conclusion that the House of Representatives will fairly soon vote to impeach Donald Trump.

That throws the ball into Senate hands -- and the Republicans did not want that. It puts Senate Republicans between a rock and a hard place. If they don't vote to protect Trump and keep him in the White House, they will face the rage of Republican primary voters. If they vote to remove Trump from office, they will face the rage of a majority of voters in the 2020 general election. Those from red states may survive, but those in purple states could very well lose to a Democrats. This could well be just what the Democrats needed to flip the Senate.

Trump went too far this time, and Republican officials know it (even if they won't admit it publicly). He has gotten himself impeached, and is doing that, he has knifed his fellow Republicans in the back.

Self-Inflicted

Political Cartoon is by Gary Huck at huckkonopackicartoons.com.

Demographic Breakdown Of Support For Leading Dems

This chart reflects the demographic breakdown of the latest Quinnipiac University Poll -- done between September 19th and 23rd of a national sample of 561 Democrats/Leaners, with a 4.9 point margin of error.

This chart reflects the demographic breakdown of the latest Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between September 22nd and 24th of a national sample of 608 Democrats / Leaners. (No margin of error was given for just this group.)

Go Directly To Impeach

Political Cartoon is by Lalo Alcaraz.

The Economy Is NOT As Good As Trump Claims It Is

(Cartoon is by Kevin KAL Kallaugher at International Movement for Monetary Reform.)

Donald Trump loves to brag about the economy. He would have you believe that the current economy is the best this country has ever had. That is not even close to the truth. While corporations and the rich are doing exceptionally well, most other Americans have been left behind. They are struggling just to keep pace with inflation -- and too many are not succeeding.

Here's how former Labor Secretary Robert Reich (pictured) describes what is really happening in the current economy:

Donald Trump and his enablers are hoping that a strong economy will help the American people look past the damage they are doing to the country. That’s why Trump is constantly crowing about job numbers and the stock market in order to paint a rosy picture of the economy.

But when you look closer, the numbers reveal a very different story about Trump’s economy: 

1. Wages are still stuck. The median annual earnings of full-time wage and salaried workers in 1979, in today’s dollars, was $43,680. The median earnings in 2018 was $45,708. So much for the $4,000 pay raise Trump and Republicans in Congress promised when they cut taxes for the wealthy and corporations.  

2. Percent of people with jobs is low. While the unemployment rate is low, employment is not nearly as good as it may look when you consider how many people have given up looking for jobs. The labor-force participation rate – the percent of working-age Americans with jobs – is the lowest it’s been since the late 1970s, when wives and mothers first began streaming into paid work to prop up family incomes.

3. Many people are working part-time jobs. Nearly 4 million Americans are stuck in part-time jobs, unable to find full-time jobs. Many of these part-time gigs are either freelance or contract, offering fewer rights and benefits. In turn, this has increased economic insecurity for millions of families.

4. A growing number of college graduates are overqualified for their current jobs. One in 10 college grads are underemployed, which is much higher than 20 years ago. At the same time, the cost of college has skyrocketed, with students going deeper into debt to pay for their education: 45 million Americans now owe 1.6 trillion in student debt.

5. The cost of health care continues to increase. Since 2008, average family premiums have soared 55 percent, which is twice as fast as workers’ earnings and three times as fast as inflation. Prescription drug prices also continue to rise – jumping almost 11 percent in the first half of 2019 alone.

6. Housing costs have skyrocketed. Nearly 39 million American households are now paying more than they can afford on housing. And more than one in four renters are spending over half their income on housing.

7. Americans are going deeper into debt to stay in the middle class. Consumer debt, excluding mortgages, has climbed to $4 trillion, which is the highest it’s ever been, even after adjusting for inflation. 

So is anyone benefiting in Trump’s economy? The wealthy and corporations have never had it this good. In fact, under the Trump-Republican tax cut, 83 percent of the gains will go to the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. 

But most Americans are being left behind. 

The next time Trump and his enablers boast about the economy to distract from the damage they’re really doing to America, know the truth. Their failed economic agenda has made Americans poorer and less secure.

Circling The Wagons

Political Cartoon is by Steve Greenberg at steve@greenberg-art.com.

House On Fire

A Huge Myth

Warren Rises To First Place In Two New National Polls

This chart reflects the results of the latest Quinnipiac University Poll -- done between September 19th and 23rd of a national sample of 561 Democratic and Independent voters, with a 4.9 point margin of error.

This chart reflects the results of the latest Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between September 22nd and 24th of a national sample of 608 Democrats and Leaners. No margin of error for this group was given.

Both polls now show Elizabeth Warren is in first place regarding her percentage of support. In the Quinnipiac poll, she leads Joe Biden by 2 points. In the YouGov poll, she is tied for first with Biden. The margin of error for Quinnipiac is larger than Warren's lead, so it can probably be said that she and Biden are now tied for the lead. Unless something happens to change the dynamic, this is becoming a two-person race between Warren and Biden.

Bernie Sanders is in third, but needs to do better. He trails Warren by 11 points and Biden by 9 points in Quinnipiac, and trails both by 9 points in YouGov. Buttigieg has about 7% support in both polls. And the bottom seems to have fallen out of the Harris campaign. She is fifth in both polls, with 3% in one and 6% in the other.

NOTE -- I included in the charts only the candidates with at least 2% support.

Tramping On The Rule Of Law

Political Cartoon is by Tom Toles in The Washington Post.